As the school year ends and schools have gone on summer break, summer for the AIA is our time to prepare for  next year. Staff is busy finishing the year end financials, solidifying sites for next year’s championships, working with the schools to finalize their regular season schedules, training officials and creating the foundation for next year’s season. Here are some of the highlights…

• The AIA has turned the corner on the finances. Since 2006, when I became COO, the Board and Dr. Slemmer charged me with the task of reconfiguring our Finance Department and Tournaments. This was in light of the new Form 990 and change in our accounting systems. With the changes in our accounting systems and tournament reconfiguration we are realizing the changing direction of our bottom line. Going from a loss since 2007-2008, we are pleased to announce that the schools will see a disbursement from this year’s activities in excess of $150,000.00.
• The AIA has tentatively booked sites for the state football, volleyball, basketball and all of the championships. We appreciate our partners The Cardinals, NAU, GCU, Global Entertainment and ASU. More to come as the details unfold….
• We anticipate that the regular season schedules will be posted on www.AIA365.com  and www.azcentral.com by July 1. The schools should have all levels close to being done and we look forward to sharing these schedules with public. Through this process, the AIA staff and member schools have reduced overall travel by 35%. Additionally, this scheduling program enables and empowers the schools to control their own schedules for varsity, JV and freshman.
• The Officials Department continues its efforts in the recruitment and training of officials. Often these efforts go unnoticed, especially when there is that rare bad call. Having said that, the officiating community volunteers and our Officials Department deserve credit for their tireless efforts.
• Next year we will be implementing many new concepts to the AIA including a new diversity policy for all committees, the Unified Sports Program with The Special Olympics and the team reconfiguration for state tournaments. Watch for news on www.aia365.com as these develop.

Congrats to the class of 2011 and we look forward to seeing everyone back on the fields and in the stands. We will continue to prepare for next year and are looking forward to the challenges, opportunities and stories that will be a part of another year.